


Raising Peter Rabbit

by paradiamond



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Awkward Parenting, F/M, Gay Will Byers, Gen, Hopper POV, Mileven middle school glory, Rambo - Freeform, school prep, snowball - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 16:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13127451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradiamond/pseuds/paradiamond
Summary: After the Gate closes, Jim and El kick off their better start.





	Raising Peter Rabbit

**Author's Note:**

> I just love them.

Jim’s bones hurt, of all things. 

He was used to all kinds of pain. Muscle aches, pounding head from a day spent drinking, even the deep rooted shit from everything before, the kind that sucked the wind from him and left him hollow. This time though, it was his bones, which was more weird than anything else. 

He glanced over at Eleven, curled up in the seat next to him, and winced when his left front wheel went in a pot hole and the entire truck jolted. She moved. “You’re hurt.” 

“A bit,” he answered, keeping his eyes on the road now. “You?” 

She didn’t answer, probably shrugged. The ride had been quiet ever since they dropped off the kid. Jim had felt the urge to apologize, again, as he fished Mike’s bike out of the bed of his truck, even though they’d already all spent the night in the Byers’ house, but he didn’t. She’d gotten used to things before, she’d do it again. Still. 

“I don’t know about you,” he said, mildly, “but I feel like I could eat a whole house.” Jim pulled the wheel to the left, away from the main road, and she turned in her seat. 

“Not home?” 

“Not home,” he agreed, privately pleased that she’d even call it that. “Mick’s diner. Different kind of Eggos.” 

El breathed out hard, clearly excited, and he turned to smiled at her. She mirrored him, so big and bright and childish it made his heart clench in his chest, even stronger than the ache in his bones. Good. The jig was up anyway, no point in keeping her locked up all the time, even if she couldn’t go to school yet. 

They pulled into the parking lot and no one looked their way. Barely anyone was there in any case, and it occurred to him for the first time that it was like, ten am on a Sunday. People were in church. Still, Jim watched and listened, El just as vigilant at his side until he nodded, and then she shot out of the cab. 

When they walked in, El nearly vibrating with repressed energy, the waitress smiled. “Hey Jim, who’s this?” 

He glanced down at her. El had changed into some of Joyce’s old things, not the best fit, but better for Hawkins than the punk rock stuff she’d had before. She looked like a small, all American girl. “My niece, from out of state.” 

He’d said it so many times in his head that it sounded real. It wouldn’t be so hard to change if they ever got that paperwork through. No one would have trouble believing that Chief Hopper of the messy divorce and deeply rooted problems had a bastard stashed away that he briefly tried to pass off as his sister’s. No problem. El looked up at him, smirking. 

True to form, the waitress hummed, already forgetting about it as she led them to a table. 

***

They went back to the cabin after their late breakfast, ready to fall into bed. That plan got nixed as soon as they walked through the door. Eleven even rocked back on her heels. “Oh.” 

“Got that right.” Jim hovered by the door, half in and half out. It reeked of sweat, burned meat for some reason, and something else, something worse. Jim drummed his fingers against the frame. When she got back to the house the night before, Joyce said that she and the kids had cleaned up as best they could before they left, but they’d apparently left the windows shut. 

He stepped all the way inside, feeling a bit dizzy. It was pretty obvious that they tried, everything was moved around, but there was only so much they could do on short notice with Will the way he was, and he was the priority. She’d never catch Jim saying anything wrong about that. He’d leave a pot on the stove if El needed him. 

They shared a look, him down and her up, and both smirked, El reaching up to cover her nose. “Clean?” 

“Oh yeah.” 

They moved stuff around, getting under to the surfaces, scrubbing the mess out of the floor. He threw the poker away, vaguely remembering someone mention what it had been used for. 

They had music, but after the first time the radio went off, El strapped it to her waist and talked to the kid as they went, mostly about dumb middle school stuff. Mike seemed to want to catch her up on literally everything that had happened in his small life since she’d been gone, including Holly’s developing diva personality, the plot to Ghostbusters, and their latest ‘campaign,’ whatever that meant. If El was bored he’d never know it. She seemed to find all that stuff just as enthralling as Mike did, and just as important as the reasoning behind the monster Joyce found stuffed in her fridge. 

Occasionally, she eyed Jim intently, as though apologizing, but he waved her off. It was cute, and he wanted her to have everything with anyone she wanted after so long with just him. Especially kids her own age. Maybe it would help. 

Mike kept forgetting he was there too, which was funny. 

***

They went out, just for walks in the woods at first. The worst had already happened, the secret was out, so there was no point in keeping her cooped up all the time anymore. El still couldn’t go to school, the last thing they needed was for someone official to realize that she didn’t officially exist, but it was a big improvement for both of them. For the most part they stuck to the woods, and the lake, and she was satisfied as long as the others could come. 

They went and cleaned out his trailer too. Split their time. It was easier for her when she had stuff to do, different things to see. Jim was the same way, so it was simple to keep it up. Just move on to the next thing. Traps. Fishing. Knots. Easy. 

Jim leaned against the railing of the porch and watched her, crouched next to the tree they’d tied their first alarms to, the kid next to her and visibly shivering in the cold. Jim blew out a puff of smoke, watching it fade into the air. They ignored him. 

Predictably, Mike came around a lot. So much. Most of the time Nancy and Jonathan brought him, and sometimes Will too. Not today though, but Jim still pretended not to notice the two of them sneaking off, though it made him think of how old El and Mike were, and how old they’d be soon. He frowned, then smoothed it out. Of all the things he probably still had to worry about, that was pretty low on the list. Anyone who wanted to hurt her, do something she didn’t want, had a nasty surprise coming. Mike Wheeler? She owned him. He looked at her like she hung the moon in the sky, which was actually pretty appropriate, since she could probably get it down for him if he wanted. 

Jim huffed out a laugh and tracked them going around to the corner of the house, where El still kept her old outdoor stuff. Pickings from garages and campsites. Her survival. Jim looked away when Mike started to tear up, his hand bunched in her sleeve. She stepped close, made a circle with her arms. 

Mike made a sound that hit Jim like a punch in the chest. He knew what it was like to think of her like that, cold and alone, while he was warm inside. Fed. 

Jim got up and went inside, leaving them their privacy. 

***

Jim drove El over to the Byers’ so Joyce could help and he could help Will, since Jonathan was apparently already at the school setting up. Privately, Jim suspected he was with Nancy, but he didn’t mention that. Let the kid be a normal teenager for once. 

El was so nervous she was nearly vibrating out of her seat. Jim watched her out of the corner of his eye, but let her be. For the most part. “You’re happy with the dress?” 

They’d ordered it from a catalogue, and he’d altered it when it came out a little big, used to repairing his uniform shirts. She’d watched him like a hawk the whole time, like he held the most valuable thing in the world. 

“Yes,” she said, emphatic, her hands gripping at the box in front of her. The Snow Ball had been the main topic of conversation in their house for weeks, and as much as he’d enjoyed seeing her get excited about something so mundane, he’d be glad when it was done. 

“You keep it a secret from the kid?” 

She hesitated. “Friends don’t lie.” 

His eyebrows shot up. “So you told him.” 

“No,” she said, some color creeping into her face. “He didn’t ask.” 

Jim laughed, and decided to leave the lesson on lies of omission for another time. She didn’t seem like she needed it. 

When they pulled up to the house, Joyce was hovering around near the window. He smirked. “Someone’s excited to see you.” 

El smiled, and hopped out of the truck, landing in the snow. He rolled his eyes. They'd probably have to carry her so she didn’t get snow melting in her fancy shoes. Jim followed her in, relaxing in the warmth of the Byers’ house. His and Eleven’s was good, it was theirs, but Joyce had a more all American, christmas cookie vibe. A lot of the time, they had Rambo. 

“Kid swap,” he joked, and Will whipped his head up to stare at his mother nervously. Jim rubbed at the back of his head. Girls were easier. “Uh, you ready?” 

“Yeah,” Will said, eyes now glued to the floor. 

Joyce sent him a smile as she whisked El and the box off to her room, full of amusement. “Let me know if you need anything!” 

“We won’t!” Jim called back, trying to put Will at ease and failing completely. “But uh, it’s up to Will.” 

No answer. He looked down at the kid. “So?” 

There wasn’t really a lot to be done. He got dressed in the bathroom. His hair was straight, and anyways, did boys even do their hair? Jim never did when he was a kid. It wasn’t like Will wanted to be prettied up. Unless he did. Jim eyed the bathroom door, wondering if he should ask. Probably not. 

It wasn’t until they got to the end, to the tie, that Jim found he could actually be of use. 

“Hey look,” Jim said, holding it up. “An instrument of torture!” 

Will stared at him, visibly disturbed. “Uh-” 

“Kidding, it’s not that bad.” Jim shrugged, flipping the thing over. It was so small. “Or well, it is, but it’s worth it to look sharp.” 

The corner of Will’s mouth twitched. “Are you sure?” 

“Nope, but that’s what they tell me,” Jim said brightly, and pointed to the space in front of him. “Get over here.” 

He tied the tie for him, and then took it off. “Ok. You try, I’ll guide. It’s like anything.” 

Will did it. Then he did it again. “Thanks.” 

“No problem. Want to learn anything else? The girls will be a while.” 

“How do you know?” 

He shrugged. “Their stuff is more complicated. Takes longer. Come on, let’s find some string, you’re good at this.” 

When El finally comes out, adorable in her steel blue dress, he and Will were deep into knot tying that was immediately abandoned. Joyce had also added a belt to match the detail, which he probably should have thought of. El beamed, turning around when Joyce told her to. Really, she didn’t look that different, but Jim pretended like she did, clapping and making a fuss. 

“Yeah, that’ll do. I think we hit the sweet spot between pretty and bitchin’,” he said, earning a slap from Joyce and a scandalized look from Will which quickly shifted to a smirk. El nodded. 

“Thanks.” 

“I got Jonathan’s camera!” Joyce called, doing that half trot thing she did with her arms up. Jim felt a wave of affection for her as she smiled at them, brandishing it. 

Will looked nervous. “I-” 

“You nothing, I promised your brother. Even if I didn’t want them we’d still be doing it,” she said, snapping a quick one before he could say anything else. 

El glanced at Jim, who grimaced. He hadn’t thought of this, and she could clearly tell. “Uh-”

“Will first,” Joyce said, pushing the buttons. “Then Eleven. Then together.” 

It was a parade of pictures and poses. El copied Will in everything, feigning resistance, but she clearly enjoyed it, soaking up every scrap of normalcy and attention she could get. 

“Alright you two.” Joyce pushed them together. 

“Do the prom thing,” Jim suggested, grinning. “It will freak the kid out.” 

“No!” Will said, at the say time that El asked what that was. She glanced at him, serious, and then looked back. 

“No.” 

He laughed. “Fine, but one together anyway.” 

They eyed each other suspiciously for a moment before stepping closer, not nearly touching. Jim snorted. “Good enough, here we go.” He raised the camera. 

More pictures snapped. Some snacks very carefully eaten. Eleven turned to Joyce afterward, and tugged on her sleeve. “Practice?” 

Joyce all but jumped up. “Yes, practice for everyone. Up!” 

Jim was way too tall for either of the kids to practice dancing with, but he demonstrated with Joyce, amused by the rapt attention, wide eyed and fixed on the most chaste dance ever performed. Joyce ended with a flourish, her hair flipping behind her shoulder, and smiled. The kids smiled back. 

She danced with Eleven, who took it very seriously while Will laughed, and then with Will, stiff as a board. She showed them both how to lead and follow. Then she put them together. 

Joyce settled next to Jim on the couch, watching the kids, their connection simmering under the surface, comfortable as an old shirt. Jim glanced at her, but she was focused, calling out encouragement and giving tips. She got Will to smile and snapped another picture. 

He looked back, and whistled when Will tried his best to dip El at Joyce’s urging. 

One day, maybe. Or maybe not. They had more important things to attend to now. 

***

There was a muffled thump from El’s room. 

Jim looked up, got up, and walked in on Elven standing to the side of the bed with her pants down at her ankles and Mike on the floor, clearly having fallen off the bed, with his hands over his eyes. 

He leaned against the doorframe, digging the palms of his hands into his own. Privacy was sometimes still a distant concept for her. He let them drop. “Ok kids, what the hell is it this time?” 

Mike made a choking sound, and started talking so fast Jim could barely understand him. Eleven just stared at him, still partly naked, though she had decided about a month ago that she preferred boys underwear to girls so she was basically decent anyway, chicken legs sticking out of plaid shorts. 

“I- and I told her that being naked was only for being close, really close, like adults, and she- she said that sounds like us and just started stripping! I didn’t do anything, I-” 

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Jim said, cutting him off, and El glared at him. 

“Out.” 

“No.” He crossed his arms. “Pants up.” 

***

“Hey Joyce, it’s me.” 

“Hey Hop, what’s going on?” She sounded vaguely nervous, like she nearly always did with stuff like this, anything unknown. He should have started differently since Will was over. 

“Not an emergency,” he said, and switched the phone to his other ear. “Can you teach El about women’s stuff?” 

There was a long pause, during which he watch El play with Will and Mike, rolling around in the snow like dogs. Night and day, sometimes. 

“I- what?” 

***

It made sense in theory that if Joyce was going to talk to El, he would talk to Will, and, though he disputed this point, Mike, since his parents were basically puritans, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. 

He stood in front of the boys on the couch with his hands on his hips, trying not to glower too much. “Alright. We know why we’re here?” 

Will nodded. Mike didn’t. 

“Fine,” Jim said, and then ran out of steam. He chewed on the inside of his mouth. El would have been easier. Anything he didn’t know, he could have looked up. Nothing embarrassed her, except maybe now, since he made it into a thing. It was probably too late to call the whole thing off though. Also, for all he mostly understood the mechanics of a human woman’s body, he didn’t know the other stuff. The lady stuff. Whatever it was. Joyce would know. 

Which is why they’d done this, obviously. He sighed and crossed his arms. “Ok.” 

Both boys were staring at him with a range of emotion. Ever since the tie, Will seemed to be warming up to him. Jim was even in some of the drawings now. Mike was visibly shaking at the knees. 

“We’re here to talk about growing up. It mostly sucks, but it’s important to know. Bodies change, mostly in terms of hair, smell, and- what?” 

Mike had his hand up. He dropped it. “We learned about puberty in heath.” 

“Ok, good.” Jim nodded, trying to remember if health class included talking about sex, or at least erections. “What parts?” 

Mike made a face. Not encouraging. 

“Ok let’s just circle back to that. Girls.” 

Will glanced at Mike, visibly nervous, who was now staring at his knees. Right. 

“Relationships, I mean. People.” 

Now Will looked truly alarmed. Jim waved a hand. “You know it’s- whatever. Point is, be nice to each other.”

“That’s not what Steve said,” Mike said, under his breath. “Idiot.” 

Jim frowned. “Steve?” 

Will nodded. “Yeah, he talked to Dustin.” 

“Harrington did?” Jim asked, and resolved to foist them off on him whenever possible. 

Both nodded. 

“Ok good, what did he say?” 

Will looked at Mike, who shrugged. “Stuff about girls.” 

“You’re supposed to ignore them,” Will said, very seriously. 

“What- actually, no, nevermind.” He waved a hand. “Just- let’s start with the basics. Your parents told you how babies are made, right?” 

“I know what sex is,” Will said, with perfect confidence. “Jonathan told me.” Mike’s eyes went wide, and he looked between Jim and Will, his face red and eyes darting frantically. 

“I don’t,” Mike lied. 

Jim nodded, looking at a point on the wall behind them. “Great.” 

***

“Name?”

“Jane Eleanor Hopper.”

He smirked. “Nickname?”

She didn’t smile, too nervous. “El.”

“How old are you?” 

“Thirteen.” 

“When’s your birthday?”

“January two.” 

He looked at her. 

She straightened her already excellent posture. “January second, nineteen seventy one.” 

“Good. Who's the President?” 

She made a face. “It- there’s an election soon.” 

“Election happened already.” 

“My dad doesn’t talk about politics,” she said, with a perfectly straight face. “He says they’re for the birds. Also war is bad.” 

He put a hand over his mouth, struggling not to laugh. “Alright. That would work.” 

She smiled, fiddling with the strap of her new backpack. Technically Nancy Wheeler’s old backpack. They had learned that El liked things more if they belonged first to people she liked. It was no skin off Jim’s nose. Most of her things this way came for Mike, obviously. But she also had some of Nancy’s old clothes, Will’s half used notebooks, Jonathan’s first, apparently terrible, camera, Dustin’s spare lizard tank that was now fully of random toys and books, and weirdly, Lucas’ Halloween costume. He was the closest size. 

El had wanted, and therefore Mike had insisted, on a Halloween re-do, but only at Joyce’s house. 

“What are the main school subjects?” 

El sat up straighter. “Math, reading-”

“Reading called what?”

“English.” She nodded. “Science, sport-”

Jim let that one go. 

“Study hall, history, and languages. Sometimes.” 

“Probably should be all the time, but yeah.” He rubbed at the back of his head, thinking. “What time does school get out?” 

She froze, then relaxed. They’d been over this one enough. “Three pm.” 

His eyebrows flew up. “Not three zero zero?” 

El made a face. “No.” 

“What’s a bathroom pass?” 

“Stupid.”

“El.”

“It’s a thing the teacher gives you to use the bathroom.” 

He clapped his hands together. “Alright, that was your first school test.” 

She stared at him, blank faced. 

“Stop that, you know you passed.”

She smiled, so big, and jumped up, kicking the table over. He laughed, and caught her when she threw herself at him, all power in a tiny frame. She nearly knocked the wind out of him. Jim huffed, and held onto her when she didn’t let go. 

El shook, a bit, and they’d be late if they didn’t leave soon. Didn’t matter much. He kept her close, big hands on her back, and didn’t let any fear or strain come to the surface. That was his job, and they’d faced worse together before. 

He leaned away, squeezed her shoulder tight. El looked up at him, not as short as when he’d found her. Not as thin, not as scared. 

“You know what?” 

“No.” 

He smirked. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”

A line appeared between her eyebrows. 

“Yeah,” he let go and reached for his hat. “Don’t need to. You fight monsters, you survive in the woods all winter, you danced with Mike Wheeler at the thing. You’re smart, you’ll figure it out. I’m not worried about you.” 

Jim stuck the hat on his head and made for the door. He glanced over his shoulder, and she was right behind him, smiling. “School.” 

“Yup.” 

He opened the door, and she stepped out, into the world.

**Author's Note:**

> paradiamond.tumblr.com (:


End file.
